Verkehrsbelastung und allergien

Traffic pollution and allergies Traffic-related air pollution is a major source of pollution in western industrialised countries. There are a number of experimental studies which show an association between traffic-related air pollutants and allergies. The epidemiological evidence is not as clear. Between 1988 and 1997 we therefor studied 2149 six-year-old children from the cities of Cologne and Essen and fi'om the small town Borken and investigated whether children living nearer than 50 m from a busy street had more allergies(questionnaire) or allergic sensitisation (skin prick test, determination of specific IgE) than those children living further away. In 1996 we determined the exposure of nine-year-old children from Düsseldorfin a more detailed manner and investigated the association between exposure, allergies and sensitisation. We demonstrated that children from inner cities had more allergies and allergic sensitisation when they lived nearer to a busy street or when their exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) outdoors was higher. This could not be shown for children living in smaller towns. NO₂ measured in front of the child's living place was a good indicator for traffic pollution but no good indicator for the personal NO₂ load of the child. Therefore the association found is probably not due to NO₂ but to traffic-related substances other than NO₂.